Former NFL player Shannon Sharpe reveals his stance on controversial Olympic boxer Imane Khelif

Former NFL player Shannon Sharpe stood up for Algerian boxer Imane Khelif, whose presence at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris has caused a global gender conflict.

The 25-year-old was allowed to compete in the women’s competition after being rejected from last year’s world championships because she allegedly has male ‘XY chromosomes’.

“She was born a woman,” Sharpe said in an episode of his Nightcap podcast, via Awful Announcing.

“Transgender people are trying to get rights. And when they go to Capitol Hill, these senators and representatives on the other side ask doctors very specific questions. ‘Doctor, I want to ask you one thing, can this woman have a child?’ Yes, she can. … So how can she not be a woman? Biologically and anatomically, how can she not be a woman?’ he continued.

Khelif is not a transgender woman and has never identified as such.

The 25-year-old has been cleared to compete in the women’s category at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris

However, she made headlines after Italian Angela Carini gave up their fight after just 46 seconds and then burst into tears.

The defeated welterweight fighter was hit twice, suffered a suspected broken nose and barely threw a punch before telling her teammates, “It’s not fair.”

She then knelt down, punched the canvas in frustration and refused to shake Khelif’s hand after conceding her victory.

In the meantime, Olympic leaders have doubled down on their decision to allow Khelif – And Taiwan‘s Lin Yu-ting – to participate after being disqualified from the 2023 World Championship.

The IBA was the umbrella organization overseeing the competition last year, but the IOC stripped it of its status over governance issues and alleged corruption.

“Biologically and anatomically, how can she not be a woman?” Sharpe said on his podcast

Angela Carini gave up her fight with Khelif after 46 seconds, before bursting into tears

“They (Khelif and Yu-ting) were suddenly disqualified without any due process,” the IOC said in a statement after taking over the organization of boxing at the Games and the associated eligibility rules.

“Everyone has the right to play sports without discrimination,” the statement said.

Criticism was also levelled at ‘misleading information about two female athletes’, adding that the duo ‘have been competing in international boxing competitions in the women’s category for years.’

The statement highlighted “aggression” against the boxers, which it said was “completely based on an arbitrary decision taken without any due process.”

‘Such an approach is contrary to good governance. The Rules of Participation must not be changed during the ongoing competition, and any change to the Rules must follow proper procedures and be based on scientific evidence… The IOC is saddened by the abuse currently being suffered by the two athletes.’